Current Mood:  Creeped Out

Okay, folks, let’s talk a little bit about the summer ‘07 show Potemayo, which I just caught the first episode of.

First off? It’s about babies. Okay? Babies. Granted, they’re remarkably mobile and their thought processes are pretty sophisticated, but Potemayo is a freakin’ baby. At least, I sure HOPE all that poofing out is diapers - although since she apparently wet the bed they can’t be very good diapers. Ghetto diapers, I guess.

That said, it’s actually a pretty funny show. The “main character” (who has approximately five lines in the whole first episode) hardly bats an eye at his refrigerator giving birth to a bizarre baby.

THE ABOVE IS ALL TRUE. I love the green-haired girl’s character design. But then she opened her mouth, and her shrill screeching voice killed any potential affection at the get-go. Fortunately, the boring-looking brunette’s voice is smexy, and she even turns out to be a character of some significance. Groovy.

Now, some Kaze no Stigma.

The female lead does not appear to be being ironic when she says this. She actually goes on to compare her identical outfits. As a viewer, I felt insulted that the creators actually thought I might find it funny.

That said: even Ayano’s dad understands his obligation to try and get the main characters together. So to those of you who actually argued that the show isn’t heading that direction: HA.

I currently have School Days 1 and 2, Moetan 1, and Code-E 1 to watch, but I’m also running up against my deadline for a feature article, so my next Reckoning probably won’t be until sometime next week, FYI.

Current Mood:  Determined

Okay, time to get down to business: summer 2007 anime, so far. This is all best on ONE ep, since none of them have more than that out, so take it all with a grain of salt, folks.

DoujinWork
Status: …May give it another episode.
I was pretty with-it with this series (especially OMG LESBIAN SUBTEXT!) until “Justice” and the five-year-old doujinshika loli appeared. They could have been funny, but instead they just seemed…creepy. I also just felt kind of embarassed watching the main character decide to do doujinshi to make money. I may watch another ep to see if I can get over it, but I was really underwhelmed with ep one.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
Status: Gonna try ep 2…
Okay, I already posted on this one, but it bears repeating: MOST BORING FIRST EP EVER. I understand you wanna recap, but christ, find a way to make it interesting.

Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho
Status: Intrigued
Another one I already talked about, which is not quite as over-the-top wacky-funny as I was expecting (a la Love Hina at least at first), plus the female lead isn’t quite as “cool” as I was expecting (she sounds like she’s six!). But it’s pretty cute, so I’ll keep watching.

 Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei
Status: Addicted
This is definitely my favorite so far. The first one to actually make me laugh, with excellent animation and a soundtrack I’m already dying for? Yes plz. I also love all the goofy jokes on the chalkboards in the background. ♥

Sky Girls
Status: Intrigued
Not as much of a loli-fest as I expected, it looks kinda sweet. I’ll keep watching. But look for my next post about some AWFULLY SIMILAR CHARACTER DESIGNS this year.

Zero no Tsukaima
Status: Watching
I liked season one. I’m enjoying season two. This is not exactly a deep, thoughtful anime…it’s sort of the anime equivalent of a summer popcorn movie, it’s just enjoyable.

Zombie-Loan
Status: Watching
The first one I watched this season and discussed here. I’m curious to see where this goes, especially since it’s so crazy different from Rozen Maiden (and/or Shugo Chara! for that matter).

So, that’s 7 out of 21. I have the first eps of Moetan and School Days left to watch, and a lot hasn’t aired yet. For the rest: where are my fucking subs?! (Especially for Mushi-uta, damnit?!)

Current Mood:  Determined

Alright, I watched the first ep of Higurashi Kai, but it was boring as all get-out. At first I was glad for a recap since I didn’t watch season one, but christ was it dull. So I won’t bother going into that. Here’s hoping ep two is worth a damn!

I also watched the first episode of Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho, henceforth to be referred to as “Umisho,” or “Mary Sue Goes Skinny-Dipping.” It looks cute. I was expecting it to be more over-the-top hilarious, but I’ll give it a few episodes to see where it goes, if only for the fanservice’s sake. (Also, I really like the way they do eyes in this show. Go fig.)

Oh, and Kaze no Stigma 12 is out, and Ren’s arc is done. Good, now he can focus his energies on getting Kazuma and Ayano together. And anyone who tells me that the series isn’t gearing up to get them together can watch the episode 13 preview and suck it.

Current Mood:  Confused

No, seriously. The girl tames MOOSE in her free time. And don’t get me started on all the flowers that flock around her. WTF!

…Oh well. At least the next ep will be onsen goodness. ♥

Speaking of onsen eps, I forgot to say yesterday that I love how Darker than Black set up to have an onsen ep and then had it be EMO!YIN and no onsen at all. Joke’s on you, fanboys!

I’ve just been skimming D.Gray-Man eps lately because of all the filler. Why can’t anime filler ever be like Oreo filling? All yummy and stuff. Bah. But it looks like next ep will at least return to Allen and Lenalee, so I’m not dropping it just yet. Mm, Lenalee.

I’m being really slow on starting up summer series. Mostly because they’re being very slow to get subbed, but also because I’m still watching a SHIT TON OF STUFF. I can’t wait for the next ep of Gurren Lagann though. ♥

Romeo x Juliet is NOT going to be 14 eps, thank god. And next episode involves MANUAL LABOR!ROMEO! Which amuses me. He’s actually developing a backbone very nicely - not some lame insta-GAR, but he’s not just remaining a complete pansy either. Keep it up, Gonzo!

Let’s see…in other news, it looks like I’m gonna have to work in a trip to Arizona next year, assuming that the con develops into something more than “Yaoi-Press-Fest,” as Jordan put it. Um…anyone live there and have some crash space? ♥♥

Current Mood:  Approving

You laugh, but I’m serious: not several hours after I posted THIS, anon releases subs of Darker Than Black 13 and 14. Anon is watching this blog from afar! And I luff him for it.

So. We’ve finally caught some plot for Yin, huzzah! And we’ve had the return of the detective and his assistant, which I’m not so very thrilled about…though it felt a bit smoother this time than last time.

Now, I thought the C.C. clone would turn out to be Hei’s imouto-chan, but if that’s the case then she’s had a serious makeover, so maybe not. Boooo. But the C.C. clone has a Boku clone with her, so it may yet be epic. We’ll see!

Oh, back on blog upgradey stuff, did you notice I finally got tags working properly too? Again, thanks to Randall. Whee!

Current Mood:  FAITO!

Ahh, the first episode of Zombie-Loan. I won’t say that it’s brilliant TV, but it’s not bad so far. The art style is a bit weird for me compared to Rozen Maiden (chins and noses are so…damn…POINTY!), but I can live with that. As long as Michiru grows some balls, anyway.

And that’s my first summer show so far (got a few raws to check out though, plus the BSS Higurashi release - so quit trying to tell me about the damn show, people!). Now, on to the usual suspects:

Bokurano - Where are my fucking subs?!
Claymore - I kind of miss Raki, actually. Can it be timejump tiem nao plzz?
Darker than Black - See Bokurano
El Cazador - see Bokurano
Emma season 2 - see Bokurano
Gurren Lagann - Kinda dull right now, honestly. Waiting on another timejump here…
Hayate no Gotoku - The most consistently funny series from spring, definitely.
Heroic Age - Why do I keep watching this? And why has no one killed Deianeira’s retarded brothers loooong before now?
Kamichama Karin - Why do I keep watching this? And why has no one put me out of my retarded misery looooong before now?
Kaze no Stigma - Why do I keep watching this? And will Ayano and Kazuma stop being complete douches to each other?
Lovely Complex - Holy shit, a romantic comedy that doesn’t suck!
Lucky*Star - Dale and I kept doing “bye-bee” symbols at each other at AX. That’s all you really need to know about that.
Romeo x Juliet - Where are my fucking hormones? (No, really?)
Sisters of Wellber - Just started picking this up, and it’s not as bad as I expected. But, protip, subbers: CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Not Bulgerock. Not Voljirakku. THEY’RE TRYING TO SAY BERGERAC. Read maor!
Sumomomo Momomo - …see Bokurano, damnit.

And now, a fanfiction manifesto. Continue Reading »

Current Mood:  Dadada

Why is this show so awesome? I know many people find it irritating, but I’m constantly surprised by how fun it is - the writers really know their audience. Yes, it’s really just a constant stream of inside jokes…but so are many Kevin Smith flicks and they’re still awesome.

In other news: my brand-new shiny laptop showed up TWO WEEKS EARLY, e.g. yesterday. I didn’t want to share her until I got stickers for her all printed and stuff. (I got into the habit of putting stickers all over my laptops. Don’t ask me how, I don’t know.) In the above picture, the computer on the left is Sumomo, my old Dell Inspiron 1100 which did me pretty well for four years. On the right, I introduce: Yuki. Bigger pic after the jump if you want to see what exactly those stickers are. Continue Reading »

Current Mood:  Disappointed

Better that than all this seriousness! What’s with all this non-gag, potentially-serious drama in my Hayate?

Moving along…I’m considering dropping Kaze no Stigma.

I’ll admit it: I can be a bit of a girly-girl when it comes to romance. So I instinctually want Kazuma and Ayano to get together, since that’s pretty clearly what the series and all of its characters are gearing up for.However, in order for me to enjoy watching that happen, Ayano has to be a little less of a dumb tsundere bitch, and Kazuma has to have his ego deflated a lot. Oh, and he has to quit beating up fairies, too.

So, we’ll see.

Current Mood:  FAITO!

GAINAX DELIVERS WITH MANLY TEARS! *insert GARLOCK! chant here*

I’m pretty content with how they’re moving along in a post-episode 8 world, as it were. And I think a few of the naysayers feel a bit better now too. Now we just have to see what they come up with for the REST of the series. It’s not even half over yet, after all…I admit that on that count, I’m a bit worried.

But hey, next ep is the SWIMSUIT EPISO~~~DE! so who cares for now?

I’m also liking where Romeo x Juliet is going, and am particularly intrigued by the inclusion of the night elf or whatever the fuck that girl with the winged hoodie is. (And now that I’ve thought of the term “winged hoodie,” I want one.)

THIS show is only going to be 14 episodes long, I think? If so, it’s almost over, holy crap! So fast! It’s already almost the summer season! @_@ Speaking of which, I’d better get my ass in gear and finish up the summer preview feature…

Current Mood:  WTF is going on?

Dear Japan,

WTF did you do with Ryoko Shiraishi? o_O; I guess she was sick or something, because this entire episode did not feature Hayate, except in clips from previous episodes.

That said, it was a freakin’ hilarious episode - nearly every second was a reference to an anime or game. But they said in the preview at the end of the last episode that this would be an anime-only story, and it shows…it makes absolutely no sense =P

I’m assuming that Shiraishi got sick or had something else come up so that she couldn’t do the episode, and they had to throw something together in the meantime. Shame I can’t find anything about it on the ‘net…

…And I’ll close off with another screenshot.